Crumpet’s Journal – Absence Makes The Heart Grow Fonder

Hi Goddesses

Peepo!  I’m back!

Did you miss me?  I hope so, because I really REALLY missed you all, and I am SO glad to be back.  I am pumped, I am juiced, I am excited, I am DROOLING with all the polish love I have

So, as I think you know, the last few weeks have been hideous (moving house).  In fact, the whole year so far has been hideous, with one stressful, soul-draining event after another.   By April, I’d reached breaking point, and the blog was probably the thing that was going to go.  Unlike the year before, when I’d been stressed and looking to rebalance, this time there didn’t seem like there’d be a way back.  But look!  LOOK!  Here I am.  So how did I come back from so far over the brink I was doing handstands into the abyss (ooh, that would make a great book title).

Yes, Handstands Into The Abyss ….  Pre 8 weeks of house-moving hell, I’d decided the blog was either going to go, or shrink dramatically.  It was prompted by a mixture of stuff – neglecting grown-up responsibilities, wanting to do other stuff with Beth, and of course pondering whether nail polish and all its obsessive tentacles was really just an equivalent of playing World of Warcraft or other adult-avoidance tactics.  Also, for the first time, I’d run out of inspiration and just could not be arsed.

But I tell you what, there’s nothing that makes you realise how much you love something than not being able to have it.  Think chocolate when you’re on a diet, or bacon when you’re a vegetarian.   It wasn’t instant, but after a few weeks, I was itching to get back in the nail room, if only for the oasis of calm that it is.

Then, as if the universe was prompting them, indie makers and brands started contacting me, asking me if they could send product.  Despite my plans to turn down all future requests, I found myself saying yes, grateful for the opportunity to play with polish.  And now, a few weeks later, there’s 11 packages sat there in that there review pile and I couldn’t be happier.  

Better yet, I’ve started seeing patterns again.  The colours are talking to me, and inspiration and ideas are everywhere. I feel like I’ve broken out of hibernation, happy and whole.

The biggest lesson of all though is that regardless of the blogging, nail polish IS and always will be my yoga.  It’s my calm, it’s my zen, and it’s my safety net whilst I’m doing handstands in the abyss.  It soothes me like nothing else, and on the worst, stressiest days of this house move, all I wanted to do was lock the nail room door, roll around in my polishes, and paint my nails.  Slowly.

Polish is my delicious me time.  Regardless of whether it’s YOU and me time, and blog time and all that other stuff I try to do too much of, nail polish is ME.  It’s where I’m happiest, calmest and most peaceful.

Thank God a rest is better than a cure.

Crumpet's Journal - Episode 6

Hi Goddesses

Wow, can you believe it's been 3 months since the last Crumpet's Journal?  That was a very deliberate decision on my part.  I had fallen out of love with blogging, decided to cut way, WAY back, and couldn't find ANY inspiration, and I thought that was quite a whiney story, so I held it back.



In summary, I've had a shit year, and it all just sucked the joie de vivre out of me.   Let me run it by you - just before Christmas, Mark's dad almost died, then I lost my job, looked for a job, finally found a job, wrote off my car, had flu, nearly lost one of the cats, and JUST when I thought I was getting to a point when I could start to breathe again, our landlord gave us notice to leave the property because she was selling.   Also, during all this, Mark has been pretty much ill all the time with flus and bugs, also got put on notice of redundancy and then last week, put his back out.  Seriously, the joy has been over-flowing in our house.



So there you go - all that sucks the energy out of you.   I'd get home in the evening and half the time, just stumble into bed.   Weekends would be spent asleep, or, more recently, packing.  For the first time ever, Digit-al Dozen got missed and I was *this* close to hanging up my blogging socks.


The only reason I didn't was because (ironically), I had items to review.  Not many, but it meant that at weekends, I had to squeeze some nail stuff in, and it reminded me that I do love polish, and painting my nails does calm me.  If only I didn't have to write those darned posts lol.

And now finally, at the end of this week, we are about to move house, and we'll have the weeks of rearranging and unpacking that that involves, and do you know, for the first time in about 3 months, I can't wait to sit down and spend an entire weekend painting my nails.  Finally, I am excited again.



Phew!  and why?   Well, I alluded to this last year when I had my little blogging breakdown, a rest is as good as a cure, and although this time it's taken a LOT longer, that rest has finally fed my appetite.  More importantly, shit is hot right now, and I can't believe the beauty of the collections that have been released.



So, in my mode of excitement, and celebration of finding a house (did I mention it took 7 of the 8 weeks we were allowed to find somewhere), I went on a little spending splurge this weekend, and THAT has got me psyched to hell.  Different Dimension, Girly Bits, Elevation, HARE, ILNP, Polish Alcoholic, Grace-full Polish, MOD Lacquer and my beloved Indigo Bananas, all on the way in their happy, HAPPY colours.  Along with the new Uber Chic plates, and did I mention how awesome some of the new MoYou plates are too?



So, it looks like I will be back, when for the longest time I was half a Gone Girl.  For the next couple of weeks, I'll either be absent, OR I'll have managed to schedule some stuff I haven't posted yet.  Sadly, timing will mean I probably have to sit out the next Digit-al Dozen week, but after then, it's going to be all colours blazing, with lots of HAPPY manis over here.


See you on the other side :)  I'm glad I made it xx

Crumpet's Journal - Episode 5

Hi Goddesses

Wow, it's been a quiet week on this blog, hsan't it?!  wait, wait ... can you hear that ..... the whoosh of the tumbleweed lol?    



I am in a very weird head space at the moment, so let me tumble you through what's going on.   First of all, I got a new job - yay!  More money, better company, more autonomy.   Is that why I'm not blogging?  No, not really.


I've got lots of things vaulted and ready to go, a good 2 to 3 weeks worth of material, and more gorgeous goodies coming in for review, as well as all those luscious pastels.  Is that why I'm not blogging?  No, not really.




I think this photo is the best description I can find.  I have lost my oooomph.  Where it is, fuck knows, but it isn't inside me lol, and I find myself wanting to either sit in a stupor, or sleep, or sleep ..... or sleep.


So what is to blame?  Well, I'm squarely putting the blame on the hideous 2 week cold I had.  I am pretty sure it didn't become flu, but it did wipe me out.  Also, I wasn't eating properly (because my mouth tasted like chewy sewage), so I am a bit lacking in energy.



Or am I ..... it makes me wonder.  I always knew the end would come eventually, blogging-wise, and any slump like this makes me wonder if "this is it".    I am also aware my blogging sprang out of a lack of self-worth in my job - so if I get a job I adore, where does the blog go?


I don't think we're there yet, but it does upset me to see those lovely Jessica pastels and not want to pick even one of them up.   On the plus side however, I am reading, which is great.  I'm currently obsessed with Steve Jobs, so I bought a couple of bios on him.  Actually, I watched the biopic featuring Ashton Kutcher the other week and he was AWESOME.  He's not usually an actor I like, but he dropped all his annoying "aren't I cute / funny" stuf and delivered a real performance.



So, I am sure I will see you soon.  All I need to do is write posts, I have material, but .... yeh ... I don't wanna lol.   I'll definitely be back for DD week which starts on March 9th, and hopefully the gorgeous Literary Lacquers stuff I promised you last week will be up my then too.


In the meantime, if you need a snuggle, mine's definitely the best duvet in town :)

Crumpet's Journal - Episode 4

Hi Goddesses

I am really pleased to hear you've been enjoying this feature.  I do like to ramble lol and enjoy my writing posts.


The last 2 weeks have been pretty low key.  I am on gardening leave from work and job hunting, so part of my time each day has been spent doing that.  When I've not been doing that .... I've felt guilty for doing my nails.  As if there are a million more important things I should be doing instead.  Oh AND it's been hard to not buy things ...  gggrrrrr.

When I HAVE been doing my nails, I have been OBSESSED with pastels.  I am just aching for them in a way I never have before.  I used to hate "pukey pastels" but this year, they seem to signify Spring and renewal and hope, and all the things I am hoping the next few months will bring in my personal life.

I put all my favourite pastels in a separate box.  I find this is a great way to be inspired by polishes - just seeing them all lined up together sparks loads of pattern ideas in my head.   No buy notwithstanding, I did pick a few bargains up at The Factory Shop and used some paypal pennies to buy these Jessica beauties.

A good friend has been obsessed with Jessica for ages, and I was "yeh yeh", but then I saw these in my favourite eBay shop and just couldn't walk away.   My head is spinning with pattern combos lol, so expect pastels on the blog til about .... oooh May.



The last Crumpet's Journal post was all about the Digit-al Dozen, and our next challenge kicks off on Monday.   I am WAY ahead of the curve this time, and everything will be scheduled by the time you read this.   I even have all of March's DD manis done too.  Now I have to say, that's a really unusual state of affairs - I usually do my DD manis from about 10 days out - but polishes I've swatched and bases I've done and stamping plates I wanted to try have just really lined up with the themes - so yay, go me!



I've been working on getting the vault super empty again.  It WAS mostly empty, but if there's anything that's going to linger in there, it's swatches.  Not review swatches, just swatches I've done of my own purchases. I know you want to see them, so I swatch them, but then it takes a real effort to get them on the blog lol.



Last week was pretty much Review Week on the blog, with a lot of stuff I'd received before Christmas finally making its way on to the blog.  Mixed in there was a product I wasn't totally in love with, and which I felt had some flaws.  I felt I offered a constructive rather than critical review, and gave the maker the heads up, and even offered her the chance to reply in the comments of the blog post if she wanted to.



What I got instead was one of the rudest replies I've EVER received.  Here's a little snippet - 

No I do not find the review to be constructive, nor do I find it honest especially since you claim you provide an honest review!

Well let me tell you that an honest review is not writing your opinion after failing horribly using a product  .. instructions at the back of the product, which you did not even bother to read ..

When everyone else is getting it right (and I mean everyone) and you’re not………!

We of course take back our offer to run and sponsor a giveaway on your blog, nothing to do with your followers but you cannot give away a product you just claim not to like!

To say my breath was taken away was an understatement.  Although I was impressed by her psychic abilities (claiming I had not read the instructions, when I had), I just don't get what is to be gained by such an attacking response.  In all the reviews I've done over the years, this is only the 2nd time a maker has disagreed with me in this manner.   Of course people are going to have differences of opinion, but to me, that was not the way to handle it.




So, why share this story with you?  Well I am aware a lot of readers criticise bloggers for not being honest, and as a blogger who has been and will always be honest, I just wanted to show you what the rest of the argument looks like.  Some makers may ask you for a review, when actually all they want is a fawning piece.  Now, that should not influence the blogger at all, but I can understand how some people may not want to be on the receiving end of the sort of email I received.



As I say, it's only the 2nd time it's ever happened.  The first was about 2 years ago, from an indie maker I was warned not to work with.  I stated that her polish reminded me of another one, and she bombarded me with photos asking me if "THIS" was "really" what I meant (implying my eyes were dysfunctional lol).   So, hats off to all the makers out there who can accept non-glowing reviews with the good spirit with which they're intended, and who are happy to continue working with honest bloggers.



So, that's been my fortnight ... how was yours?

Crumpet's Journal - Episode 3 - Behind The Scenes of the January Digit-al Dozen

Hi Goddesses

For this post, I wanted to take you behind the scenes of a Digit-al Dozen challenge.  This may be a one-off, but if you like it, it may be a recurring post.


Digit-al Dozen challenges tend to come in 2 sizes - ooh that's exciting, and OMG I'm f***ed.   This month's theme has definitely been in the latter category.   The theme is Fairytales, and I remember feeling slightly hysterical when it was chosen.  Fairytales?   Freakin' fairytales?

As you know, I am not a great drawing person.  I can do patterns, shapes, some easy things, but not PiggieLuv kind of stuff, and the hardest thing with this theme has been how to translate something that seems as if it can only be done with real drawing talent, into simple, decent nail art.



For this post, I'm going to take you into the heart of my DD process.  It always starts with a brain dump, usually as soon as the last DD challenge is over.  I grab my notebook and start writing ideas.   For this theme, I had a lot of help from Beth, bless her.  Here's the initial list -

From this point, some ideas will jump out at me more than others  - others will need more work.  For the ones that need more work, I usually head straight for Google and type in things related to our theme.  For this theme, Googling "fairytales" was no help at all, and just brought up endless book covers - but not of INDIVIDUAL fairy tales, cos that would have been helpful.   So for this challenge, I ended up Googling for a LIST of fairytales, and read them - yes - until I saw ones I thought I could translate.


Yeh, usually it's not this difficult!  Usually I have some stamping plates, or really clear ideas, but I went into this theme with only 1 really clear idea - Three Little Pigs.   Then, as I went to bed on Wednesday, and wriggled about, it reminded me of The Princess and the Pea.  And golly gosh, I had 2 manis.  Wow, 2.  (We're talking less than a week before the challenge starts - I usually have some DONE by now.)



Once I have settled on my idea, I decide how each nail needs to look, and "sketch" it out.  DD is pretty much the only time I do this, but I know other nail artists do it more frequently.   Here's my sketch of Princess and the Pea, with a photo of the finished mani -

For the Three Little Pigs, I had a clear idea.  Here's the sketch -

but I couldn't get the pigs right -

When I did the mani, everything was PERFECT .... until I added the flipping pigs.   It looked ridiculous, but I hated this theme so much by then, that I didn't care!  (BAD Crumpet).

Cinderella was Friday night's idea, and Rapunzel was Saturday's decision.  It was an idea that had been sitting there since the beginning, but seemed too obvious.   Yeh, I need manis, obvious will do!

So what to do for the 5th.  Shit. I am out of ideas.  I toy with the Elves and the Shoemaker.  I am determined to stick to the theme of fairytales and not pollute it with Disney.   I look for more ideas.   


I toy with 2 more ideas.   My very first was to do a mani based on the myth of true love, how fairytales set us up for a life of romantic disappointment.   The second is to do a kind of skittle, with talismanic objects from famous fairy tales - apples, crowns, spinning wheels.  But that feels like a cop out too.



So finally, I decide to symbolise my relief at the end of this hideous challenge, and just fairy tale it up a bit!   I choose to write the words The End (thank god!) in the middle of my mani, and bookend it with a heart, for true fairy tale love, and the letters HEA for Happily Ever After.   The base is a soft pastel splodge, and the top coat is Fairy Dust (ha!  I'm so funny).   Ironically, it's my favourite mani of them all.

This is also the first time I have struggled to pick my running order, lol.  Usually we post our best mani on Monday, but my best one has to come last, and I'm not really sure how proud I am of the others, so I might have to stick with the order I did them in.

*************************************


So now that the week of Fairy Tale horror is over, how do I feel?  Well, like I usually do, that I wish I could have a do-over!  I was determined to be true to the theme, but I loved the abstract nature of some of the other manis, and that would definitely have suited my style better.


As for YOU, well, we're not talking anymore.  Your favourite mani of the week?  The 3 bloody pigs!!  Harrumph!!

Crumpet's Journal - Episode 2

Hi Goddesses

Sunday January 4th

Today does not feel like a productive day.  I am a bit slothlike.  I have a feeling it's because I know I'm back at work tomorrow and all my energy has just gone eeeeeeeeergghhhhh.


I've just finished playing with the smART nail stencils, and I've finished the MoYou review (in so far as I've taken photos), so the review pile is going down!  Whoooppeee.  I really feel I should do some DD stuff today, but I don't wanna.  It's too hard.  Damn you "friends" who chose this theme!


Great quote Albert - but did you ever try the nail art???


To be fair, I would be in the mood for 31DC art, but again, the nail break.  I'd rather not do too much with the ugly.   And I have a shitload of photos to edit for this week.   Yeh, I think I could just about manage editing today.


Monday January 5th


Hi ho, hi ho, it's back to work we go.   Urrrghhhh, that alarm is a BITCH!  Luckily work was fairly quiet today, so it was a nice ease back.



I got home at 5.30 to a very strange situation - the house all to myself (if you exclude the cats).   So what to do with my own sweet self?

Well, I'm a good girl.  I schedule tomorrow's post, watermark some photos and then engage in something I've never really done before - a swatchathon!   I need to power through these Above The Curve polishes before they start collecting their pension.

Yay - 7 done!


Tuesday January 6th


Tiredness is king today.   I went straight for a nap when I came home from work and just have no inclination to do anything blog related tonight.


In an effort to be a good girl (and because Beth is back tomorrow night and she's going to demand back-to-back CSI and/or Grey's Anatomy), I have actually scheduled tomorrow's post, but can't be arsed to schedule the rest of the week.

Loving the 31DC so far.  I think I have produced some of my best nail art ever, which is brill.   It's just a pisser that I'm doing it with an index finger that looks like it belongs to a nail nibbler.



Wednesday, Thursday & Friday January 7-9th


Well, I have mostly been doing this .....



or this ....



I've had Beth back, and I knew her evening schedule would be dominated by her Grey's Anatomy obsession, so Wednesday and Thursday there was only time to schedule the following day's post before I got dragged off to 4 episodes with Seattle's finest.


Sad to hear about Cult Nails though ... I just want to take a moment to salute Maria for paving the way in the indie world, and showing how brands COULD make it big.  To this day, she has one of my favourite logos and fonts EVER, and whilst she sounds happy with her new life direction, I am sad to see her go.



Ok, that's where this week's post ends.  Oh, not with Saturday's details?  No.  Saturday is dominated by Digit-al Dozen stuff, and I thought that would make an interesting separate post for you all.  See you on the other side!